Alya Te'mul and the Starship Voyager
by justanotherdax
Summary: These are the voyages of the Starship Voyager. More specifically this is the story of Alya Te'mul as she relearns how to survive, and thrive, among people. It just so happens that she managed to get rescued by the crew of our favorite Intrepid class starship.
1. Rescuing a Borg?

**This story is my first attempt at a cohesive storyline. I love constructive criticism, but please don't flame. Life is hectic, so don't expect any kind of regular update schedule. I DO NOT OWN any of the source material, I am just playing with it. I do, however, own Alya Te'mul and her story. This fic is connected to my one-shot story "Tom Gets Smacked" so if you wish please go read that as well.**

 **This story starts between the last episode of season 1 and the first episode of season 2.**

 **I hope you enjoy the product of my insanity.**

* * *

She really should have stayed in bed this morning.

It was one of those days where everything keeps going so incredibly WRONG. She had first gotten the sense that it would be one of those days when the damned replicator had refused to make her a coffee, leaving her to suffer through a cup of Neelix's 'coffee substitute'. That would be enough to make any day a bad one.

Then, on her way to the bridge, the turbolift decided to mess with her by refusing to acknowledge her commands, forcing her to crawl through the jefferies tubes.

Suffice it to say that, by the time she had gotten to the bridge, she was in a bad mood.

The voice of Ensign Harry Kim broke her from her thoughts, "Captain, sensors are picking up some kind of distress signal. It's broadcasting on a modulating frequency, audio only."

Kathryn raised an eyebrow at that, "Well, let's hear it."

 **"This is Alya Te'mul. If anyone can hear this, please I need help. My ship is heavily damaged, the crew is dead, I'm alone. Please, I need help."**

Damn it, now she was well and truly curious, "Ensign Kim, can you get a location on that ship?"

"I'm trying," It was quite clear from his voice that the ensign was getting frustrated, "it's only two parsecs away, Captain."

Kathryn allowed a brief smile, her crew truly is one of the best, "Mr Paris, set course for the source of that signal."

"Course set"

"Captain, the signal appears to be coming from near a Borg Sphere." Kathryn knew that the only reason she could hear the ever-so-slight anxiety in Tuvok's voice was because she had known him for so long. Still, this was so not something she wants to deal with.

"Great. Just what I need today. The Borg."

 **"Please. Anybody, I don't care who, just please help me!"**

Kathryn could feel her heartstrings tug at the pleading tone the voice had taken.

"Try to set up some kind of communications with her. I want to talk to her." Janeway ordered as she looked at Ensign Kim.

"On it," Kim acknowledged, "two-way communication established, but it's still audio only."

"That works. As long as we can talk."

Kathryn switched to her best 'Captain-y' voice.

"This is Captain Kathryn Janeway of the Federation Starship _Voyager_. Can we be of assistance?"

 **"Oh thank the Force!"** There was a relieved sigh, " **I'm Alya Te'mul. Yes, you can definitely be of assistance. My ship is heavily damaged and the crew is dead."**

"Our Sensors are picking up a Borg Sphere near you. Have they attacked?"

 **"No,"** Ms Te'mul trailed off, " **I apologize for the deception Captain, it was necessary. I'm on the sphere."**

Kathryn looked around the Bridge to make sure that she wasn't the only one stunned by that revelation.

"I'm sorry, what? Did you just say that you're _on_ the Borg ship?" Janeway had to confirm it, just in case she had heard wrong.

 **"Yes."** Well, there goes that theory.

"How have you not been assimilated? How are you not dead?" Lieutenant Paris asked.

 **"I WAS assimilated. Roughly 2 years ago. I've escaped the Collective... Please, I really do need help. I'm alone on a Borg Sphere. I've managed to sever my connection to the Collective, but it won't be long until they re-establish the link and i'm back under their control. Please, i've already figured out which implants need to be removed, but i'm no doctor. I can't do this alone."** Ms Te'mul was well and truly begging now.

Kathryn sighed, "Alright, we'll help you. But, I want to talk to you. Face to face."

There was a slight pause, **"This is acceptable. Just, please, don't freak out."**

"I can assure you, we've seen borg drones before. We won't 'freak out'."

 **"Alright. Just give me a minute to reconfigure my systems. I'll hail you."**

Once the connection was cut, Kathryn and Chakotay exchanged looks of confusion. This was not what they had expected to deal with today.

Ensign Kim broke the silence, "Captain, we're being hailed."

"Alright people. Let's see what we're dealing with."


	2. Rescuing a Borg? Part 2

" _Alright people. Let's see what we're dealing with."_

Kathryn wasn't sure quite what it was that she was expecting, but it certainly wasn't the image currently on the viewscreen. She had known to expect an individual with the unfortunate appearance of a borg drone, but what she hadn't known was what species the poor girl was. She still had no idea as to the species of girl in front of her. The girl had one of the more alien appearances she had ever seen. She was a muted teal, but Kathryn knew the muted factor was just from being a drone, and she had two headtails instead of hair. Despite that, or maybe not so much, Kathryn could tell that the young woman was beautiful.

" **Captain Janeway, I thank you for agreeing to assist me. I am in your debt."**

"It's nothing, we're happy to help. I hope you don't mind my asking, but what species are you?" Kathryn really hoped that she hadn't just violated some kind of social taboo with her question, but she really was curious.

" **Still I thank you. It is fine, I suppose I will have to accustom myself to this particular inquiry now that I am in this galaxy. I am what is known as a Twi'lek, and as far as I am aware, I am the only one of my kind in this galaxy."** Alya was, for once, glad that her borg nature allowed her speak of her isolation in such a calm and matter-of-fact way. She could tell that the human captain was curious and perhaps a bit dismayed at the information she had just learned.

Kathryn was, in fact, more than just a bit dismayed that the young woman in front of her was the only one of her kind in this wait, what? "I'm sorry did you just say that you're the only one of your kind in _this_ galaxy?"

" **Yes Captain Janeway, I did. I fail to see how this is confusing information."**

"I take it this means that you're from another galaxy?" Chakotay cut in.

" **Yes I am."** Kathryn was somewhat baffled as to how Ms Te'mul managed to convey a feeling of exasperation without once changing her tone or moving her body. She figured that the only reason she had heard it was thanks to her long friendship with Tuvok.

Kathryn brought the conversation back on topic, "As interesting as this is, perhaps we should focus on providing the assistance we have promised?" Kathryn knew that her crew could see the question for what it really was. "You said that you only required assistance with the removal of some of your implants? I'm sure that our doctor is capable of doing so, but I worry that we may not have all of the necessary tools."

Ms Te'mul seemed relieved that the conversation was back on track. " **Yes Captain Janeway. I have already made a list of standard Starfleet medical resources as known by the Collective. I am sending it to you now. Please make any revisions necessary and send it back to me. I will then identify the tools that will be compatible for the procedure."**

Kathryn shared a look with Chakotay and Tuvok and, seeing that they agreed, suggested a different plan. "Ms Te'mul, that plan seems to have a lot of unnecessary back-and-forth. It would be much more efficient for you to beam over to _Voyager_ and confer with our doctor. Would you be amenable to this?" Honestly, Kathryn was surprised that a borg had come up with such a convoluted plan.

Ms Te'mul looked slightly shocked but recovered herself quickly. " **Of course. That is a much more efficient plan. I was simply concerned about your crew's reaction to seeing a borg drone on** _**Voyager**_ **."**

Now it was Kathryn's turn to be shocked. A borg aware of people's feelings? "Ah. Well in the interest of not frightening the crew, would you be alright with beaming directly onto the Bridge?"

" **Yes, of course. I would very much like to proceed in the most efficient way possible."** And with that, Ms Te'mul cut the connection.

Not a minute later, there was the familiar sight of a body materializing on the bridge. Kathryn knew that, despite having just seen Ms Te'mul, the majority of the bridge crew were shocked at her appearance. Kathryn herself was a bit surprised at just how tall Ms Te'mul was, the young woman was at least 5'10''. Kathryn could also see now that Ms Te'mul's headtails came down to about her waist.

"Captain Janeway, I thank you again for the assistance you are willing to provide. How soon will I be able to meet with your Chief Medical Officer? I do not mean to push, however time is of the essence." Ms Te'mul's voice broke Kathryn out of her observations.

"Yes, of course. We can go to sick bay right away. I hope you don't mind if I have Lieutenant Tuvok join us?" It was not a question.

Walking through the corridors next to a liberated borg drone was a strange experience. There was nothing actually odd about the journey to sick bay, it was just the fact that she was walking with an ex-drone that was throwing Kathryn for a loop. She'd never imagined that she would be so relieved to be entering sick bay.

"Computer, activate Emergency Medical Hologram." Ah, Kathryn could always count on Tuvok to be completely unaffected by semi-awkward, for her at least, silences.

As the medical hologram gave his programed greeting, Kathryn looked to see if Ms Te'mul was as affected by the silence as her. If she was, then she wasn't showing it.


End file.
